#i'm not mad about i cause it's too early for the book to have been replaced this year

[fidgetspringer]

Too cold to paint, but I left an ink sketch in the log book.

[strongheartneteyam]

I wet you like water but she stained you like blood.

Chapter 4

Pairing: widowed!dilf!Jake Sully x younger!female!human reader

CW: jealous-in-an-unhealthy-way-Jake, Jake and y/n verbally fight because of complicated feelings, angst!!, heated make out session, possessive Jake, TRIGGER WARNING for Jake being toxic and unreasonable, Jake apologizes afterwards bc he's good after all, Daddy kink (nothing explicit but still the kink is there)

So… after this fic being on an incredibly long hiatus, I'm back with another chapter. I had this in my Google Docs for way too long but I was not sure if I wanted the story to go this way but I guess I do. I'm extremely insecure about this chapter, so, please, leave me your opinion about it. Love you guys <3

Not proofread. I'm sick n sleepy. Sorry :(

Chapter 3 𓆩♡𓆪

You know I'm good at keeping secrets, you know that you're my weakness and I'll always repeat it

If I could hold onto the feeling back before your words lost their meaning

There's no need for apologies 'cause, honestly, fuck your honesty, I'm done

Think you like the insanity

I'm the casualty of your dreams 'cause I'm not the one

casualty of your dreams (Maggie Lindemann)

𓆩♡𓆪

Rumor had it there was a human girl that worked in the lab being all lovey-dovey with an Omatikaya young guy. They had gotten it from the fact that you were just talking to and smiling at an Omatikaya male you had met in one of your walks in the woods to collect samples. You had just found out the na'vi could be as fond of gossiping as humans… Great. As the word runs fast as the wind on the Pandora planet, three days after you finally see Jake again. He had been gone for 3 whole days, not even paying a quick visit to the lab to see you for some minutes, really early in the morning, - like he always used to do - when he was already awake to do some Olo'eyktan tasks and you were up with your face buried in science books about extraterrestrial flowers and herbs, a cup of hot black coffee on the table, right next to your hand for easy access, as you survived only because of the caffeine, having to wake up so early almost every day. Sometimes being a xenobotanist truly sucked... 

"Who's that Omatikaya boy you were seen with? People are saying you were all over each other." Jake spit, rage and jealousy burning his insides, bursting like a bomb inside of the cold, filled with cold air coming from the air conditioner room you were in, sitting down, taking notes with an electronic pen in your tablet about the herb samples you were conducting a research about.

There were microscopes, high tech computers, Pandoran plants samples and xenobiology books all around. 

"What?!" You said, startled by his sudden, noisy appearance.

"Don't pretend you have no clue! You were there, y/n." Jake says, a cold smirk filled with anger adorning his face, the feeling of his heart being crashed and bruised even stronger than when he first heard the news harassing him

"What the hell, Jake?!" You say loudly, mad at him "why are you being so rude to me?!" Your heart was beating fast inside your chest cavity. You couldn't believe Jake was treating you that way. "Why did you burst into the room like that, without even knocking on the door, like you usually do?! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Won't you just answer my question already?!" Jake said, in a cutting tone

That was the last straw. You had enough.

You swiftly stood up from the high chair you were sitting on and came closer to Jake, looking up at his usually yellow bright eyes that were now tainted with a dark atmosphere, like a rainy grey cloud was around him, his 9 feet something frame towering over you, but you were so damn angry that you didn't feel a single bit of fear, even knowing he was incredibly mad and seemed out his damn mind and you knew that he could even kill you so goddamn easily if he wanted to. Not that you thought he did. You could never see Jake doing something so horrible, especially to you. It was just a fact: he was ridiculously stronger than you. His height and his muscles, plus the fact he had military training and so much experience at war, making him a dangerous adversary right now. You thanked any Higher Force that existed in the Universe that you were sure and confident Jake would never hurt you physically.

But he was hurting you in another way, a very detrimental one: he was hurting your feelings. Hurting your feelings good.

"No, Jake Sully. I won't answer you until you stop being such a goddamn jerk." You said, a serious, stern expression in your heated with anger face as you stared at his eyes

He looked you dead in the eyes and breathed heavy though his nose, supporting his back against the wall, his body inclined back, his huge toned but a little fleshy arms crossed in front of his chest. He calmed down a little and was waiting for you to talk.

"Thank you!" You spit, rolling your eyes at him "I was, yes, talking to an Omatikaya boy. But that was all. He was really nice and we were just having a good time. Nothing happened. I even told him that I had someone. Didn't say who it was, though. I don't know if he was interested in me. I'm not that good at noticing these things."

"Hah, so he was flirting with you! I knew it!!" Jake was lost in his jealousy. You didn't recognize the man in front of you

"Jake!! Are we gonna do this all over again?!" You were getting way too mad at his attitude 

Jake tilted his head to the side, furrowed his lips, eyes on yours, scorching your very soul.

"Why can't I be mad? He was messing with what's mine." He stated, fierce.

"Ahaha" You laughed sarcastically

"Unbelievable…" You thought

"So, you don't make our relationship official, you don't let your family or anyone in Pandora know, everybody thinks you just like to talk to me about sciencey stuff, Norm might be the only one that suspects of something, in my opinion , but he minds his own business and respects our friendship - with me and with you - way too much to go around gossiping to people about the fact you always come way too often to the lab and spends a lot of time alone in rooms with me, and you have the audacity of acting like a mad man when an Omatikaya guy, who has no damn clue you're dating me, seems interested in me?! Is that the way you're gonna act, Sully?! Really?!"

Jake still stared at you, angered.

"Yes." He said, in a low, calm tone. But you could feel his cold demeanor coming towards you. He was still angry and still though he was right.

You chuckled faintly, your face tainted with disbelief "Manchild." You said, looking into his eyes.

Jake sighed heavily, spent some seconds with his head down, seeming to be thinking about something and then, he came closer to you, his eyes softer this time, that anger flying away slowly.  

"I'm sorry. You're right. I'm being childish. I'm way older than you are. I should be the mature one here."

You looked at him, eyes still distrustful, but you gave in and calmed your nerves down too.

Jake looked at you with puppy adorable eyes, the way he used to look at Neytiri when they were young. Even after so many years, he still had that cute look in his eyes when he was sorry, or pleading for something or when he just wanted to show his true feelings to someone he had romantic feelings for. He wasn't the romantic type, but he showed his love through actions, through acts of service, quality time, physical touch, and, through looking at the person he loved - in this case, "the person he liked", you thought - that way. His eyes said everything his mouth couldn't say.

"Please, forgive me, baby. I didn't mean to hurt you this much. I was foolish, I was letting my heart guide me. That's not good, sometimes." He sighed, upset with himself "it's just that... you mean so much to me. I don't wanna lose you to someone else. Someone younger, who doesn't have a whole lot of baggage like I do, someone who can make you happier than I can."

You breathed through your nose, your chest felt tight, filled with anxiety and tension

"You will never lose me, Jake. Never. Don't worry about it." You looked at his pleading amber eyes, forgiving him "My heart is yours. You're always there. Everywhere I look, you're there. I listen to love songs from Earth thinking about you. Why are you so insecure?"

"No reason... I just... You're so precious to me. I need you so much. So much."

You gazed into his eyes, started to tip toe, trying to reach his mouth. It was stupid, you knew the height difference wouldn't let that happen, but, you were following your instinct to physically show him how much you loved him. That you were his and never wished to belong to anybody else.

Jake noticed what you wanted to do and took you in his arms, sweeping you off your feet, his arms beneath your thighs and initiated the kiss himself. Jake held onto your thighs tightly and strongly. He kissed you like a starving man finally getting some food. His tongue wildly touching yours, licking it, sucking on it. His lips bruising yours, leaving your mouth reddened afterwards.

His big blue hands moved from your thighs to hold onto your butt, carefully to not let you fall from his arms, as you were up in the air and could get hurt if you fell.

"Nobody can touch you. Or kiss you. Or fuck you. Only I can. Do you understand, sweetheart?" Jake spoke, almost whispering, out of breath because of the heated kiss

"Yes, Daddy." 

"Good girl. My good girl. Only mine." Jake praised you

𓆩♡𓆪

Taglist:

@lik0

@live-laugh-neteyam

@sweetllamaparadise

@a-blog-name-2003

@cautionworks

@behindthearcane

@yeosxxx

@anxietydrogz

@destinylburns

@thelxnelyworld

@ducks118

@snchezb135

@mashiromochi

@gosusu123

@layla2-49

@luvv4j4ybe11

@bakugouswaif

[snifflesthemouse]

Meghan was Harry's Revenge. Once He is Over it...

Hello ALL YOU LOVELY READERS!!! How this mouse has missed the cheese! How is everyone out there? It feels like years since I've decidded to sit down and make time to repeat myself for others to use for content on their own videos (I'm not hating, I love it.). But this is a bit different.

You see, there was a Vanity Fair article that recently came out revealing things we all knew already if you were already paying attention. We all knew that Meghan was horrible to her staff. We all knew Harry ignored and allowed her abuses to be hurled upon anyone around her. We all knew that she would be shopping a divorce book deal one day, too. So what is the point in keeping on keeping on, if it's just the same stuff on repeat?

WAIT... WHY IS IT JUST THE SAME OLD SAME OLD STUFF, AND NOTHING NEW??

Why no new patterns of behavior as of lately?

Meghan is infamous for playing the Flying Pasta Game (go read what that is below, on my blog). She has the same exact pattern for every single project she has been rumored to start since she got with Haz. She finds an idea to copy, she tries to 'elevate it' and spin it as original and fresh, and then she doesn't fully commit until she sees if it becomes an instant sensation. That is the problem with the narcissist; they won't finish anything unless they know it will be more than viable. Anything less than a smash isn't worth the signatures for the USPTO for ARO to legally proceed. She did this with EVERYTHING. But, I am not here to talk about Meghan's hair-brained schemes and failures. I am here to talk about the truth.

The truth is, Harry and Meghan were never star-crossed lovers with their backs against the world. They were two mentally disturbed people, both with abandonment issues. Both with insecurites stacked to the ceilings. But one was a prince, and the other had to use people to get her platform.

Let's be real. Harry was never in love with Meghan. Love wouldn't leave you hanging that way. And Meghan caught on early that Harry was using her for revenge. They were both using each other.

The problem with two mutual people who don't love each other coming together to scheme and scam is, that it almost ALWAYS blows up. For regular people, they end up caught and either go to jail or some just desserts come EVENTUALLY.

Harry hates his family. He doesn't love his wife, either. He doesn't love his brother, and he didn't love his grandparents. Love doesn't hurt. But hurt people do hurt. And Harry has been plotting his revenge for his mother for a while now. He knew he'd never be able to be KIng or topple the monarchy. But he knew he could marginally disrupt, embarass, and bring doubts to the people. That could, potentially, cause lots of harm.

But you know what happens when someone is built off of hate and bitter? It takes a lot of energy and steam to keep the hate going. Just like this mouse told you before... the same song and dance numbers would be replayed on repeat because they've been cut off. They have no new source materials.

The whole world finds them boring and atrocious. If Meghan was smart, she would go away and be silent for a while. A few years of her nose to the grind and working from behind the scenes would do us all some good.

Because they aren't working on their podcasts or Netflix deals. They were professionally separated until the next devastation station came about for them to trauma tour. We've seen it for years, and I have no idea why the mainstream media hasn't made a montage of these events.

Eventually, Harry will be tired of being mad. BUT, He will be even more tired of being broke and being tied to her. He will hate her like he hates his own because that is how hate works. It is a cancer. When people are miserable on the inside, nothing can fix that but them. Harry will get bored and need someone else to be mad at that will make new drama and money.

This mouse told you all years ago this was coming. They would run out of steam and turn on each other. Harry did his damage, and he tested the waters to see how truly loved he was... and he got a bad grade. He learned a lot of people wouldn't tolerate everything like he was Diana.

Meghan got tired of waiting on Trevor to help her career. She will do the same with Harry, too. But see... there is this pesky problem they both have. Meghan is spiteful enough she would expose the whole thing re the surrogacy issues. That's a whole other post in and of itself, though.

I miss you all and love you dearly!!!

[bonny-kookoo]

hi bonny! i love the “I Like You” couple so much!! and i'm loving the drabbles as well 🫶🏻 so for them can i ask if they had a misunderstanding before and who tries to speak to the other first? thank you in advance! 🫶🏻

AN: This is set VERY early in their relationship (about three months in). The timeline can be checked in the masterlist, where all drabbles and parts are listed in order of story progression, not in order they were posted in :)

"Hey, Jungkook?" You ask as you're both sitting on his couch in his apartment, watching a movie together. He hums, but doesn't avert his gaze as the scene captures his attention still. "You know you don't have to be together with me, right?" You ask, and at that his eyes widen, as he scrambles forwards towards the low coffee table to fetch the TV remote, pausing the movie.

"What?" He asks, absolutely bewildered and now wide awake again, as you shrug.

"Like, Just cause I asked you out, and like you, doesn't mean you need to be together with me." You say. "I'm fine with being just friends, too-" You start, but he shakes his head, confusion written all over him as he looks at you through his glasses.

"What- are you talking about?" He wonders, a bit unsure now. Do you not want to be with him? Is he too boring for you? Or is it something else?

It's a huge insecurity of his.

He doesn't really do dates, doesn't know how to take you out or anything, because he himself doesn't like being out in public all that much. He isn't such a social butterfly like you are, he can't really even call and book a table at a restaurant if his life depended on it, considering he doesn't even order his own food if there's no app for it.

Maybe you realized that he's just.. too gray and boring for you. Too strong, too intimidating, too gross, who knows. He wouldn't even be mad. He's been called out on all those things before, after all.

"I just feel like.. I might've come off too strongly on you." You say. "Just.. Jimin had talked to me about being a bit more gentle with you, 'cause you've had bad experiences in the past and so I've been trying, you know?" You try and explain, leaning your head against the backrest of his couch. "But like.. I don't know. You've been kind of distant with me for the past few months, and you know, when you're together it's supposed to be the other way around, usually." You say, and Jungkook sighs.

"Is that why you suddenly told me you didn't want to go to that concert? Because I said that I don't like big crowds?" He asks with a bit of disappointment, and you nod. "I asked you twice if you were really sure-" He whines, but you whine back just as much.

"I didn't wanna push you!" You complain, finally breaking it seems as your eyes begin to shimmer. "Like, I don't know, lately I've been feeling like shit cause I never wanted to make you uncomfortable but it feels like I do!" You explain yourself. "Like, maybe we both, just don't work as like, a couple, and that's fine-" You start, but he shakes his head, mouth already open as if to find a second he can use to chime in, but you're not letting him. "-I can stay your friend and all, I really don't mind! But I don't feel.. like, loved, at all." You sigh, and at that, he's silent for a moment.

He appreciates your honesty, always has ever since you two met. So even though it stings, hard, at least he knows what the problem is.

"What can I do to make you feel loved?" He asks, almost scared even, and you shrug.

"No.. I don't want to like, give you guidelines so you can make up a persona that fits my expectations." You shake your head, arms wrapping around yourself for comfort as you sit up, looking around. "I think I should.. maybe leave-" you start, but at that, he reaches out, takes your hands.

His entire body is running cold at this situation. You're leaving him- and he doesn't want you to. Not now, not ever.

"No no no I'm not letting you." He shakes his head, and you notice how he's holding your hands. There's no strength used at all to hold them- his grip is non-existent, as if you're gonna break if he used just a tiny bit of muscle.

He's been like that with you for the entirety of your three-month journey by now. Careful. Hesitant. Always on edge.

"I just don't know what to do." He confesses, looking down at where his thumbs are running over the backs of your hands. "I.. really like you, I really do, I just.. don't know what you want from me." He worries.

"I just want you to love me-" you start, but he groans in frustration.

"I already do that, but it's clearly not enough!" He barks out angry at himself. "I'm not.. I wanna like, call you cute shitty nicknames like Jimin does too, but what if you don't like them?" He rants. "I want to go on dates with you but I don't know what things you like. I want to buy you things but I've got no clue what you even own already in the first place. I want to, you know, hug you and kiss you but what if I do that in an odd situation where I wasn't supposed to-" He says, and your shoulders droop at that, before you pull him closer, and peck his lips.

"You're not gonna break me, buff guy." You joke tenderly, smiling. "Let's just make a deal." You say, sitting cross legged across from him now, fully facing him. "Pinky promise!" You threaten, holding one of your pinkies out- and he hesitates for a moment. "I'll love you how I love you- and you'll love me how you love me. All you've been doing was to try and figure out what kind of acting role you're supposed to play, and I don't want that. I don't want some weirdly warped shapeshift-shit." You scold gently, moving your hand closer. "I just want you." You say, and he chews on his lip nervously.

"What if you won't like me?" He asks, and you shrug.

"I already do though! I wouldn't have asked you out if I didn't!" You say. "I do like you- you're just being mean all the time cause you hide yourself." You complain. "I can't promise you won't end up hurting. Cause that would be bullshit- we're gonna end up hurting each other one way or another, cause we're people, and people suck." You explain. "But I want that version of you too, you know? I want you sick, I want you being weird, I want you angry, I want you boring-" You confess, and his eyes begin to sting from the way he has to hold his tears back. "-I want you all strong, and manly, and handsome-" You say, leaning forward to peck his cheek. "-and I want you weak, and crying, too."

"Okay." He nods, though his voice cracks as he clears his throat, trying not to look too vulnerable, his pinky interlocking with yours in promise. "...thank you." He offers, and you giggle, before playfully tackling him to lay back on the couch, legs thrown over his waist as you bury your face in his chest. "You can't see the movie like that-" He starts, but you shake your head.

"I don't care about the movie anymore." You sigh happily, arms squeezing him closer a bit. "My boyfriend is way better." You giggle, emphasizing the word 'boyfriend' for your own amusement.

And he can't help but grin, and hold you as well, for the first time actually using some strength. Not because he's scared you'll still leave him if he doesn't, but because you said that he won't break you- and because he knows, you'll tell him before that could ever happen.

He trusts you, after all.

And he wants you to trust him too.

[markantonys]

While I still don't think the show has done enough to show why the world despises and fears male channelers (since it really should've been embedded into the world building, so far we only know that the Aes Sedai hate and fear them) and it does kinda lessen the impact of the narrative that none of the EF5 had at least an initial gut reaction to Rand being able to channel. I do wonder how they're gonna handle that topic moving forward, cause it kinda has to be addressed now that Rand is actively channeling. I could see it being expanded more deeply as Rand's madness progresses/tie it into his arc.

the show has made it ABUNDANTLY clear that Male Channelers Are Considered Bad News By All. it IS embedded into the worldbuilding. was the king saying that logain's gone mad and trying to kill him not enough for you? was the people of tar valon jeering and throwing fruit at him not enough for you? was rand and mat saying "hey if i'm a male channeler please kill me" not enough for you? was rand's terror the second he realized selene saw him channel not enough for you? was selene's act of how a normal person would react to finding out her boyfriend can channel not enough for you? was his heartbroken yet unsurprised reaction to her rejection not enough for you? was the whole backstory of a male channeler causing the apocalypse not enough for you? do you think that show-onlys are completely incapable of putting all these pieces together along with aes sedai treatment of male channelers and coming to the conclusion that male channelers are probably not very popular with most people and it's going to be very tough for rand that he is one?

literally what else should they have done that would make sense within the very small world and very early story of the first 2 seasons/3 books that they didn't already do? shown emond's fielders sitting around the dinner table talking about how much they hate and fear male channelers when none of them has ever met one and thus it's not relevant to their lives? wasted time doing a whole sidequest for rand in s2 where his abilities are discovered by some Average Citizens and they react badly? shit all over show!mat's characterization and given him a negative reaction to rand in s2 that would not make sense for his current show headspace, just for the sake of furthering rand's randpain? i'm sick of the rand stans who act like rand is the only character who matters and mat's characterization should be sacrificed just so we can go "oh poor rand uwu even his own best friend is mean to him". portraying mat in 2x06 as the sort of person who bullies and kicks his best friend while he's down would've been beneficial because......? what is so wrong with the show making the ef5 feel like mutually loyal friends instead of "rand is the best and most loyal friend in the world but the rest are little shits who abandon him as soon as the going gets tough"? seeing as in the books, mat continues to be an extremely loyal friend to rand throughout the series but most readers are too stupid to see through his unreliable narration and realize he doesn't mean it when he says that rand channeling is like him eating babies, i'm not surprised the show decided to simplify things in order to convey the true heart of mat's character (loyal and caring friend to rand) in a more obvious manner.

and i guarantee you that no show-only is going "oh, it's only aes sedai who have a problem with male channelers, everyone else thinks they're cool". that's not happening. show-onlys are not stupid, and they understand that male channelers are considered bad news by all; or maybe they haven't thought much yet about how male channelers are viewed by the average public, but in future seasons once we see rand getting shit from the average public, they are not going to be surprised or confused or go "but i thought it was only aes sedai who had a problem with them and everyone else thinks they're cool?", they're going to go "oh, well we've seen how much aes sedai hate them, so it makes sense that everyone else does too". stop. think for 2 seconds about "have i actually seen a large number* of show-onlys misunderstanding X and/or do i think it's plausible that a large number of show-onlys would be likely to misunderstand X, or do show-onlys have enough context clues to figure out X for themselves or to be unsurprised when X is expanded on and made more explicit in future seasons and i'm working myself up into a state over a non-issue?"

*there are always going to be a handful of people incapable of critical thinking who willfully misunderstand what the show is showing us, just like there are readers like that with the books, hence unless a LARGE number of general-population show-onlys are misunderstanding X, as opposed to just 20 idiots on twitter, i do not consider it a failure by the show in portraying X.

[aurumacadicus]

i'm not sure if tumblr is lying to me or not about when you responded to my ask but i only just got the notification for it, so. if you're still doing the 1-161 stony ficlet challenge, can i request 123 if that one hasn't also been taken? ps i'm really loving the ones you've posted so far, they're great! <3

Thanks! It's been a lot of fun!

--

Steve grit his teeth as Tony carefully, casually prodded his thigh with the toe of his left foot again. They were fighting, and he couldn't tell if this was an olive branch or a deliberate attempt to make him lose his cool.

They didn't fight often. They argued a lot, of course. He and Tony both had very strong personalities, and they also had very strong opinions. More difficult still, Steve was from a different time, and while he'd made great strides in acclimating himself to the time (and while Tony had been very patient as he learned) some things he said and believed still had them butting heads sometimes.

Tony prodded his thigh again, and Steve sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. He would not give Tony the satisfaction of reacting.

"I'm not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention," Tony finally declared, prodding him again.

"We are fighting and I'm still mad at you," Steve answered curtly, looking back down at his book. He figured that was attention enough, with the mood he was in and their fight still hovering at the edges of their conversations.

The ball of Tony's foot stayed pressed to his thigh a moment longer before he slowly drew it back. "Oh. Sorry."

Steve slanted his gaze over at that, brows furrowing together at the tone of Tony's voice. It was the one he used when he knew he'd misstepped but didn't understand why. He looked genuinely upset before his emotional shutters came back down as he returned his gaze to his tablet. He pulled his feet in closer, tucking himself tighter into the corner of the couch.

Steve watched him, considering, then carefully asked, "We... are still fighting, aren't we?"

"Of course. Obviously," Tony scoffed, prodding at his screen a little harder than he usually might.

Steve waited a beat, but Tony didn't plow on like he usually did when he was angry. He'd had no problem shouting for hours yesterday, but Steve had no doubt he'd come up with new things to shout if he was still very upset. He cast around his mind for what Tony's sudden change in heart and remembered, frowning, that Colonel Rhodes had huffed out a frustrated, 'well, his parents never apologized to each other, at least not in front of him, so he thinks fights just stop eventually and you carry on as usual.'

Tony must have just been... ready for things to carry on as usual. Steve set his book in his lap and sighed again, tipping his head against the back of the couch. He'd been the second one to sit down on the couch. Tony must have thought that was an olive branch. And maybe it had been, he realized, turning to look at Tony again. Maybe, unconsciously, he'd been ready to end the fight, too. But not like Tony wanted, where they simply stopped talking about it and returned to life as normal.

"I'm sorry," Steve said, because he was. His ma always said it took two people to fight, after all.

Tony prodded at his tablet a couple more times, then turned his head a little, peering at him out of the corner of his eye. "...For what?" he finally asked, skeptical.

"For fighting," Steve answered simply. He'd learned early on that if he said too much, Tony would have more to read into.

Tony turned his head away, then looked back at him, eyes narrowed. "...I'm... sorry... too," he finally said, slowly, like he was waiting for Steve to spring some sort of trap after each word.

It hurt a little, Steve could admit to himself. But luckily, he'd learned that it wasn't his own shortcomings as a boyfriend that caused Tony to be suspicious of something he thought was a good thing; the lists of people who had hurt Tony in the past were all available online, after all. Not necessarily under that label, but Steve was pretty good at reading between the lines.

And it was a step in the right direction, Steve figured. Acknowledging their wrongs to each other was certainly better than just letting them go unsaid. They could have a discussion about it later, when the hurt wasn't so fresh and they had time to decompress.

Until then, Steve reached out to grab Tony's ankle and drag his leg back out, and Tony squawked as he was pulled across the cushions. "C'mere."

"Brute!" Tony howled, trying to claw his way back across the couch, but Steve's grip on his leg was immovable. "Stop fucking dragging me everywhere you want me, you neanderthal, I--"

"You what?" Steve asked, flipping him easily, and immediately dug his thumbs into Tony's arch, exactly where he knew Tony got sorest. Tony let out a moan, and Steve knew he had won, at least for the moment.

[losersimonriley]

At the tail end of a long, grueling mission that had them run around half of Eastern Europe, Laswell had given Ghost and Soap three days of leave before they'd be flying back home. She'd even booked them a hotel in a tiny spa town for two nights. Yet even though they arrived early in the day, Soap was still exhausted enough from the mission to just let Ghost handle the check in.

Something was off, though, when Ghost returned to him. He could tell by the square set of his shoulders and the slight frown on his brows. Even without his usual balaclava, his hood and face mask hid most of Ghost's expressions from inexperienced viewers.

"Good news: Laswell's paying for two dinners each at the in house restaurant. It's supposedly very good," Ghost reported.

"And the bad news?"

Ghost subtly shifted his weight. "Only had rooms with double beds left."

"You mind sharing?" Soap raised his eyebrows.

"Nah. Thought you might."

"Nah. Let's get up to our room then. I'm right knackered from the trip."

Ghost rolled his eyes at the phrasing, but didn't comment on it. When Soap punched his shoulder to signal go time, he obediently followed to the elevator.

As forewarned, the room only had one bed. But at least it was the softest, most cloud like bed Soap'd ever had the pleasure of sitting on. He wanted to immediately lie down and never get up. First things first, though.

"Mind if I take the first shower?"

Ghost shrugged. "Feel free. Thought I'd have a look around town. Find the spa. Try the public fountains. Look at the local attractions. Tourist shite."

"Have fun. I'll cover home base while you're out on recon, then."

Ghost huffed out a small laugh as he turned to leave the room.

Soap hopped into the shower for a quick wash, dried himself off with extremely fluffy towels and then got himself comfortable in the bed. He'd planned on a quick nap, but when he woke up again, it was because someone had chucked a paper bag at his head. It smelled deliciously like baked goods.

"Got you lunch, Sleeping Beauty."

"I'd be so mad at you for waking me like that," Soap said as he sat up and bit into the bun that'd smacked him in the ear. "If this weren't so good."

"Up for an afternoon trying all the healing springs? The park is twenty minutes from here and has at least ten different fountains with different properties. Maybe one can cure stupid."

"Maybe one can cure being a dick."

"You'll never know."

They spent the afternoon together trying the water from every single fountain in the park. It had clearly been built sometime in the nineteenth century, Soap pointed out, citing the architecture and decorations. The water was various kinds of salty. More than half the fountains were claimed to have uranium in the water, a fact that led both Ghost and Soap to come up with more and more outrageous movie mutations caused by too much of the spa water. Dinner at the hotel's restaurant was fantastic. The chef didn't skimp on the fat, nor on the herbs and spices.

Soap had almost forgotten about the bed in their room by the time they got ready for bed. "I can still sleep on the floor, LT."

"Why?"

"Dunno." Soap shrugged. "Thought it might be weird to you."

"'s not." Ghost took off his boots, stripped down to his undershirt and briefs before he slipped under the covers. "Fuck. 's like a cloud in here."

Quickly, before either of them could change their mine, Soap undressed and got into bed as well. His hammering heart forced him to keep a fair distance between himself and Ghost.

"Figured you'd be a cuddler," Ghost mused.

"That an offer?"

"Mh." Under the covers, Ghost reached out to pull Soap closer to him. "Don't mind if it's you."

Soap swallowed. He let himself be pulled against Ghost, head resting on a broad chest, hand over a heart that was beating it's staccato rhythm in tandem with Soap's own.

"G'night, Simon," Soap whispered, not trusting his mouth to say more.

"Night, Johnny."

When he woke up the next morning with his Johnny sprawled out on top of him, with his breath hot against his bare neck, Ghost was immensely glad he'd convinced the hotel clerk to give them a room with a double bed. Even if it was just for one more night, he'd treasure this closeness for the rest of his life.

This felt like getting tucked into a comfy warm hotel bed of my very own <3 I hope everyone else enjoys this cloud bed as much as I do god BLESS

[sunkissedscribbles]

Prejudiced - Chapter Seven

this is only a part of the series, the previous and next chapters can be found here

a/n: a little later and shorter than usual but here is the new chapter, hope you'll enjoy it <3

word count: 1880

tw: alcohol, drugs, not proofread, ki's daddy issues<3, cassie's weird ass (but valid) urge to push her tongue into mattheo's mouth

summary: new obsessions for ki and cass unlocked

<previous chapter next chapter>

dividers by @chachachannah

Today, 30th October is the day everyone's been excited about for more than a week - well, almost everyone, as Kiara had other things (or other people, rather) to obsess over.

It all started this Monday when the fliers announcing the arrival of the competing schools were put up, reading this:

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o’clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early. Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.

Kiara was sitting next to me that morning in Astronomy class, telling me about her dream from the previous night in which she had some hot fun with Snape – who she even referred to as 'the daddiest daddy' (not my cup of tea but who am I to judge?) when a man we've never seen before entered the room, causing girls to start whispering behind his back, and Ki to tug on my sleeve before putting her most charming smile up as she began to ask questions such as 'who are you?' and 'what are you doing here?'. At first, I had no idea either but as it hit me, I began to pull on my friend's robe to stop her before she could have asked or said something stupid in the haze of her newfound interest in the new teacher.

"For fuck's sake, Cassie," Kiara barked at me.

"Five points from Slytherin, Miss...?"

"Bianchi," Ki next to me replied in a mutter, dumbfounded as she realized it too.

"Sebastian Harper. Professor Sebastian Harper," the man continued as he turned to the class, to which Ki next to me bit her lip to shut herself with an embarrassed blush. "I'm going to be teaching you Astronomy for the rest of the school year."

"Cool, we finally got rid of Sinistra," someone said from behind and I have a feeling it was McLaggen – who else?

"Professor Sinistra is still teaching at Hogwarts," continued Professor Harper, "and don't for a second think you'll have an easier job with me."

I frowned to myself as I thought about how unusual it was to have a change of teachers (if it's not DADA, of course – with that, the weird thing would be if we had the same for over a year,) especially mid-term. But strange things happen, innit?

I was shaken out of my thoughts by a sudden grab on my arm, to which I hissed quietly as I turned to the source of the sting; Kiara, looking at me wide-eyed as she whisper-shouted "HE HAS TATTOOS!" This was when I turned to the teacher standing in front of the chalkboard with his back turned to us. He wasn't wearing a robe, I had just then noticed, only a button-up shirt. Its sleeve rode up his forearm just enough to reveal his tattooed skin and I shook my head at Kiara with a quiet, barely audible chuckle, then leaned closer to her with a grin. "Now who's the daddiest daddy?"

"This god right here," she muttered back to me, her eyes never leaving the new teacher's arm. "But Snape's still second," she turned to me finally with a grin from which I knew immediately she'd found her new obsession.

After the uproar around the arrival of the competing schools has somewhat died down, Mattheo, Theo, Ki and I are in the Slytherin common room. Enzo's not here, again. His disappearances are starting to feel neutral as he's been doing this in the past few weeks. He barely talks to me, even though we've talked through our disagreement and his conflict with Mattheo, but he seems to be avoiding us – or me, at least, and it's starting to bother me, a lot.

"You think he's still mad at me?" I take the opportunity to ask as the others stay silent for a few seconds.

They share a cautious look which gives away they know something I don't. I raise my brows as my gaze shifts between the three of them, but as they don't say anything, I dodge questioning about it. "Never mind," I mutter as I reach for the bottle of wine in Ki's hand before standing up to leave.

Mattheo catches up to me as I'm already taking the steps two at a time up to the Astronomy Tower.

"Cass, c'mon," he sighs. Him following me is the last thing I need right now – his scent is so fucking strong that I'm starting to go insane because of it. Ever since that heated kiss we've shared under the shower, I've been pushing these thoughts down and the urge to kiss him senseless is growing and growing without ever coming to a stop. I'm back and forth, I think I'm going crazy. If I ever blow up like Enzo's cauldron the other week, just know it'll be because of this. "Let's talk," he spins me around by grabbing my arm then takes the bottle out of my hand. I give in with a sigh – bad idea, now my nostrils are filled with his scent, again.

"Okay," I nod, letting him take the bottle. My eyes are glued to his as he wraps an arm around my shoulder as he leads me towards the Astronomy Tower.

For a few minutes, we're only sitting next to each other, sipping from the bottle one after the other. I keep stealing glances at him, eyes fixated on his jawline as he lifts the alcohol to his lips, my gaze wandering up and down his features, stopping on the scar across his right eyebrow and eye.

"The nightmares?" I ask quietly, genuinely worried because he hasn't talked about his nightmares since the night he showed up at my dorm but judging by the bags under his eyes it's obvious he still has them.

"Still there," he mutters back, leaning against the railing.

"Guessed so," I nod sympathetically. I wish I could help him somehow. Ease the pain, take away from his nightmares and tiredness. "You should try a sleeping potion, see Madam Pomfrey."

He laughs and shakes his head. "For everyone to know it? Thanks, I'd pass. They think I'm crazy anyway, I don't need any more rumours to be spread about me," he takes another sip from the bottle before reaching for the pack of cigs in his pocket. I didn't think of it like this, but know he's right; we've both had our fair share of rumours, but mine can't even compete with his. The first real rumour that cost him his very few friends was probably the most serious one as well. In our third year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, it was considered evident that Mattheo, heir of Salazar Slytherin himself was the one who opened it. 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir... beware,' I remember the words written with blood as if it was only yesterday. It was obvious, right? 'The heir' – a little bit too obvious, if you ask me. Because why would the heir himself declare his cruelty like this? A thirteen-year-old kid. This wasn't the only buzz about him, of course. People have always been against him on a certain level, ever since he'd first introduced himself on the train after which the word of Voldemort's son coming to Hogwarts spread like wildfire.

"You're right, I'm sorry," I sigh, biting my lip as I think about how I could help him – but the effects of the consumed wine start to hit already, slowing my thinking down, sounding almost like gibberish in my head.

"Why are you apologizing?" he looks at me, confused with the cigar hanging from between his lips. Hell, I wanna replace it with my tongue so bad...

"Because it was stupid of me to say that and I made you upset," I mutter as I break my gaze away from Mattheo's lips.

With a frown, he wraps a comforting arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to himself. "I'm not mad at you, dumbass," he squeezes my upper arm before offering me a puff of his fag. I've never smoked before – I think for a minute. Overthink, rather, because what if I do it wrong? And what if I don't like it? If I choke on it? He'd laugh at me for being this inexperienced. I shake my head as I lean my head onto his shoulder instead, feeling overwhelmed and tired.

I'll have to ask Ki to teach me how to smoke – I make a mental note.

As the night progresses, we are accompanied by Ki and Theo, some weed and more wine. The others are doing drugs but I stick to the wine. Do I have to mention I'm not exactly one for these kinds of fun? So I guess it's evident I barely ever drink as well. Well, tonight I take it a little far compared to my own limits.

I'm lying on the floor of the tower with Mattheo next to me, the remainder of a joint between his lips as I keep pointing constellations out for him.

"Cassiopeia," Mattheo points it out suddenly but since that's my name, I look over at him out of reflex, thinking he was calling for me. It's obvious that he's high, there's no doubt about it. But even like this, he's so gorgeous, I just can't help it.

Ki and Theo are sat up against the railing as they talk about something, subconsciously switching mid-sentence between English and Italian, so that I have even less of a chance to make some sense out of it as my attention is narrowed to admiring the boy lying next to me.

"...bein' high always makes me want to kiss you," Mattheo suddenly confesses in a barely understandable murmur, to which I can feel my heart rate skyrocket immediately.

"Then do," the consumed wine mutters back before I can stop my tongue from talking, and he doesn't need any more approval to put his joint out on the floor and tower over me to capture my lips in a lazy kiss. I hear Kiara say something that sounds a bit too much like 'Get a room' but my senses are once again too overwhelmed by Mattheo and the way his body grinds against mine as our lips melt together as if they were made for each other to make sense out of her words.

The whole scene doesn't feel real as I've been disassociated from my body and senses since lunch, but as the kiss deepens and our tongues dance together I can't help but want to take the lead. Or the wine wants it, who knows?

We continue making out, my hands ruffling his hair as they rake through the dark curls and his hands grip my hips, holding them down against the wooden floor while our tongues keep dancing with each other hastily.

Taking the initiative, I reach down in my drunken haze to unbuckle his belt but he grips my wrist immediately and breaks the kiss. "You're not just a hookup, Cassie," he whispers against my lips before intertwining our fingers, partially to keep my hand away from his jeans.

tag list: @inksoakedparchment @mqstermindswift @reys-letters

[artzzyb00-27]

Jee-Yuns' Playtime

Jee-Yun centric cause she needs love! She's adorable😭, also I'm basing her personality off Lily from Modern Family and the stories of her going to daycare/pre-school and meeting kids whilst getting into mischief. No coherent storyline, just funny tidbits I think would happen when she ultimately goes to school.

After Jee-Yun turned four, Maddie and Chim decided she was ready for preschool(Hen convinced them too). The first few days had been great. The teachers and caretakers were super helpful and reported that she was on her best behavior. Wouldn't fuss when told no and wouldn't throw a tantrum when naptime was supposed to happen.

Everything was great. Till it wasn't. Which, okay, Maddie and Chim were dramatic, but to be fair they didn't expect her to be an imp this early. At least in front of others.

"She what?"

"She put a kid in time out." Mrs.Niamh answered smiling humorously.

"How?/Why?" The Buckley-Han parents wondered. Smiling brighter, trying not to laugh, Mrs.Niamh replied.

"He tried putting glitter on the floor and she caught him. Walked opposite of the room, yanked the glitter bottle out of his hands, and said, 'You'll get it back when you stop trying to sparkle the room! Go in the book corner!'." Makes sense. Jee-Yun hated glitter. It offended her to the core. One time Maddie tried putting some glitter in her fair for a small party with the firehouse crew and Jee ran to the garden hose and sprayed the glitter out of her hair. 

Other parents would be mad, obviously, but Maddie couldn't help but be impressed that she efficiently undid her tight hair and didn't get her clothes wet. Gotta recognize the tenacity I guess.

-------------------------------------------

"Mason was crying today."

"Oh no, how come?"

"Someone put sand in his hair." The dead tone in her voice was surprisingly enjoyable for the adults. Especially with something random or just outright sad. She was like Lily from Modern Family. Except, not a little bitch. No shade to her though, she's iconic.

"Awh, poor Mason. Did you help him get it out?" The silence was the only answer Maddie received. Raising a brow, Maddie turned slightly to her kid in the living room. Who was sitting on the floor drawing random things on the coffee table. "Jee?"

"I might have, been the one to put it in his hair." Not looking up but slowly coloring the mini poodle she drew. Pursing her lips, Maddie huffed through her nose trying not to break. She needed to set an example.

"Oh. Why?"

"He was in the way." Maddie has a few weaknesses. This was one of them.

-------------------------------------------

Dropping off Jee-Yun and Nia along with the boys at Athena and Bobby's was an idea. Whether it was a good idea was still up to debate between Chim and Buck. Anyway, Christmas was three weeks away and Athena liked to decorate early so they wouldn't stress about it later. So she got Harry, Christopher, Denny, and the girls to help out.

While the Denny worked on the garlands, Chris and Harry helped the girls put the ornaments on the lower part of the tree. Athena was working on the taller bits. Nia was being organized, moving some around if it didn't look proportional in her brain. Jee-Yun on the other hand couldn't care less for symmetry.

Looking down Athena laughed at the scene beneath her. Chris was handing Jee ornaments while she placed them where she wanted. And what she wanted was 9 ornaments on the same branch. Taking a quick picture, Athena sent it to the family group chat and was bombarded with 'awes'.

-------------------------------------------

During Spring the kids were able to go outside and enjoy nature in the backyard of their daycare. Jee-Yun was playing with ladybugs she found in the grass in the corner while the other kids were running around near the jungle gym and swings.

When she felt something hit her head, she rubbed the top of it and looked around. A branch had fallen from the tree in front of her. Looking up at it, Jee-Yun wondered what it would be like to be that high up. So she set out to find out.

Gripping the crevices of the tree as best she could she climbed up without letting any of her teachers notice. Once up to the top she looked around and saw the city buildings in the distance. Yawning, she realized she was tired and leaned backward on the tree closing her eyes. A small nap couldn't hurt, right?

It could be if your dad was a firefighter and your mom was a first responder. When the teacher noticed that the girl with purple shoes wasn't in her favorite corner of the classroom, she immediately informed someone. And that someone called 911. And the person who answered was May.

Who glanced over at Maddie enjoying her lunch peacefully. Yeah no, keep quiet for now till they get someone on it. And that they did, the 118 that is. Chim getting shot was less stressful than this. He was the one who convinced Maddie to leave his little girl at the daycare to relieve the stress on them and the team.

"Chim you gotta focus or you're staying near the truck," Bobby said firmly despite his worries building.

When arriving parents were already picking up their kids. Ignoring the children awing them, they walked over to the teacher who initially reported the missing girl.

"I only noticed till the last 30 minutes, how she slipped my view I don't know. She's always very outspoken!"

This was true. Jee-Yun was a force of nature that the world wasn't ready for.

"The last time I saw her was outside in the back near the jungle gym. I got distracted with other students." Chim didn't blame her, he didn't, but his dad mode was kicking up and he didn't want to be near her right now. Instead, he veered off with Ravi following him to look around the fence to ensure none of it was clipped or open.

As the others called out, Hen looked up at the rustle in the leaves. Getting directly underneath she looked up and saw little feet dangling.

"Jee!" She yelled out multiple times gathering the attention of her team.

"No sarang, ireona!" Chim yelled in Korean waking up the girl successfully. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down and saw her family beneath her.

"Hi, Daddy!"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, the team got the ladder and got her down.

"Wanna explain why you gave your teacher a heart attack by climbing a tree?"

"I wanted to know what it would be like to be a branch. And I was sleepy."

Laughing at her explanation, the teacher thanked them, farewelled the 2/3 Buckley-Han duo, and left. Putting Jee-Yun in the fire truck was a fun car ride back to the station.

When they told the story to Maddie back home, they all laughed while watching Turning Red. Chim couldn't help but compare the girl in overalls to his passionate and blunt daughter.

[bones4uuu]

Never to Heaven by Lana Del Rey

May my eyes always stay level to the horizon may they never gaze as high as heaven, to ask why May I never go where angels fear to tread so as to have to ask for answers in the sky The whys in this lifetime I've found are inconsequential compared to the magic of the nowness - the solution to most questions there are no reasons And if there are - I'm wrong but at least I won't have spent my life waiting looking for God in the clouds of the dawn I'll be up early to rise though of course - but only to make you a pot of coffee That's what I was thinking this morning Joe that it's times like this as the marine layer lifts off the sea from the view of our favorite restaurant that I pray that I may always keep my eyes level to your eyeline never downcast at the table cloth You see, Joe it's times like this that the marine layer lifts off the sea on the dock without candle lit that I think to myself there are things you still don't know about me like sometimes I'm afraid my sadness is too big and that one day you might have to help me handle it may my eyes always stay level to the skyline assessing Long Beach's glittering new development never higher than the tallest building never to heaven or revenant 'Cause I have faith in man as strange as that seems in times like these and it's not just because of the warmth I've found in your brown eyes It's because I believe in the goodness in me that it's firm enough to plant a flag in or a rosebud or to build a new life.

I was gifted Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass by Lana Del Rey from my cousin this past Christmas. I've been wanting this book for years but never found myself wanting to spend nearly $30 on it.

I always struggled in English class when we had to write poetry. I would sit there and stare at my blank notebook and try so hard to write anything but was left with nothing that felt right. Any poetry I would read, I just couldn't fully grasp it. It wasn't until this book that It finally clicked. It might have to do with the fact that I've been listening to Lana since BTD days, and her music has heavily influenced my adolescence, but she has such a way with words and being able to write something that I can feel so deeply it's like she's read my mind.

The poem above is my favorite from the book. She has the unedited one as well, and I prefer it over the final draft, but both still resonate so deeply with me. I might dabble a little more in the realm of poetry after this. Maybe turning 22 in December led me into a new path of life where I understand this shit now. Not mad about it. Maybe I'll even attempt to write some now (probably not).

[brokendarkfairyempressforever]

Please don't get mad and go off on me just listen

okay so I was homeless like more than a year ago

It was awful and terrifying and now I have more trauma to add in my big book of traumas'

Almost got raped

Being homeless is scary as heck

Please stop treating people who are homeless as crap

They're people and they deserve to be treated one

We were homeless because before my dad left he didn't pay the rent for months and we didn't know until like 7 months later when the landlord told us. We also been paying the rent after he left. She seemed understanding of our situation. At least we thought. Around my first week of school first week of me being a freshman in highschool she said she's going to kick us out until we pay the missing rent the rent that my dad didn't pay that we didn't know about and when we found out she said it was OKAY THAT SHE UNDERSTOOD. She said we have until the end of October to move out. We begged her to understand my mom is a single mom, my sister had to drop out of college to help pay the debt my dad left. It was impossible for them to be able to pay that large amount. She then said we have until the end of December. She kicked us out on November 15th 2022. We had almost everything packed. We found a place we just needed to settle a few things. We were almost there. She kicked us out more than a month early. The house we were going to rent said no at the last minute. We were at the streets. A month later we found a shelter at this hotel. They had a section for the homeless. They gave us expired food. I got food poisoning multiple times. My immune system is non existent at this point. They rarely had halal food but at least they tried. We had a court case. And the land lord god that effing woman won because she's rich. Literally the only reason. She unpacked our things and messed it up to show how we're bad people. No one cared that my dad was the one who created this mess. Who cares right he's a man. And we're 3 girls and a child and we're poor, brown, south Asian, and muslim. She kept almost all of our things even things that we just had for memories. She took everything, every belonging she took and gave us empty bags and boxes. This lady by the way has 3 houses in the Hamptons, but who cares right? Ramadan was a nightmare the amount of days we didn't get food. I don't even want to remember. Then in the middle of Ramadan my county shut down that shelter since it was "hindering the hotel's business". So they shipped us to the only shelter in my county. I got sick a lot but I still had to go to school cause I was sick every couple weeks. They never had halal food and the masjid when they had leftovers the workers there wouldn't give it to us. Only one of the shelter worker cared for us and when she could she gave us the food. I pray for her everyday. We never really got food. I had little brother too I would give we would give most of the food we got to him. The my mom sister and me would share but I know they gave me a little more. Then around the end of Ramadan our social worker at the shelter was able to get us an apartment. It's been rocky since then but at least we have somewhat stable housing. We're definitely really lucky and fortunate. We thank Allah(God) every day.

I'm telling you this story because you don't know what people go through. You don't know the reasons why people are homeless. You don't know what they go through. So please help and understand and give us at least human decency.

And open more homeless shelters. Make them safer. Give food that you would give everyone else. Make food accessible for people with allergies and religious restrictions. Make it easier for people to go find work and education. Don't restrict their rights. It's all I'm asking

Anyway I'm just asking for the world to be kinder, respectful, understand to all people of this world.

[24hourtickets]

Here are my thoughts on each contestant so far (spoilers up to ep. 9). These are just my impressions of their roles in the limited context of the show, not as actual people.

- Lee Si-Won: The mad scientist! My favorite, though not necessarily my favorite to win. Sharp, strong-willed but loyal, and most of all, persistent. She and Seok-jin have incredible synergy. If the competition comes down to the two of them, though, I feel like she wouldn't have the heart to beat him...

- Ha Seok-jin: ...while he would have no such qualms. Crafty, independent, and observant, a real genius when it comes to scheming to an almost scary extent. He's definitely most at home in a "villain" role where he doesn't have to protect anyone. He and Si-Won give me the vibes of a natural talent and a hard worker teaming up instead of fighting over their differences.

- Seungkwan: Actually pretty interesting. Whether he intended to or not, he's the only one who has managed to strike a balance between being a threatening contestant and an exploitable one. He leans more towards the latter, but not to the extent that people are targeting him. In fact, everyone likes him a lot. That's an idol for you.

- Guillaume: Just smart in general. It was especially sly of him to play dumb throughout the first game. Seemed like an all-rounder. It wasn't his or really anyone's fault he got eliminated. His team just had to decide on a strategy early on that they weren't able to change later.

- Kim Dong-Jae: Very similar to Seok-jin. Schemers, the two of them. The main difference is that while Seok-jin is fine with keeping a tight circle or even flying solo, Dong-jae wanted to build trust with others. His fatal mistake during Secret Number was not committing to either closing ranks or cutting off contact with Seok-jin and Si-Woo. I'm very interested in what the writing test for this show was like, for him to be one of the two to get a perfect score.

- Lee Hye-sung: She didn't get to do much. I like that she trusted Dong-jae, but she was too trusting. I think she should've stood her ground and compared numbers with Yu-min first, then leveraged that information to ensure Dong-jae's loyalty. That might have helped Yu-min feel secure enough to not betray them later.

- Seo Yu-min: Way too dependent on others, though she seems to have taken the results of Secret Number to heart. She has the right idea about taking advantage of other people's sympathy for her, but the helpless act only works in the long term if it's just an act and not, you know, real. Also, Seungkwan has already filled the niche she wants. She should make more use of her greatest asset: Joon-bin, who clearly still feels guilty about Secret Number.

- Park Kyeong-rim: She's so sweet. If I had to choose, she's the one I'd want to meet in real life the most. But in the show, she's way too much of an open book and bleeding heart. I like that she's more cautious of Yu-min after Laying Grass, though that just means she'll divert more of her attention to helping Seungkwan.

- Kwak Joon-bin: He's funny because he talks a big game about wanting to turn traitor and cause chaos, but he's a huge softie who refuses to exploit weaker contestants. I don't think he's crafty enough to take down stronger opponents either. He's proven himself as an active participant in the games, which is really all it takes to not be marked as exploitable even if your most of his ideas go unused. But people don't trust him because of his big ol' mouth.

- Seo Dong-joo: Also smart in general, bold. The Si-won to Orbit's Seok-jin, kind of. She's more of Orbit's second-in-command than his partner, though that's only because Orbit is that much of a force of nature while she's content to play a supporting role. She's pretty loyal to Orbit, but she doesn't care that much about the others and only helps them because he does. Even then, she's been having doubts about him since Zoo. I think she could go head to head with Orbit if it comes down to the two of them.

- Orbit: Love him or hate him (looking at you, Si-won), he's incredibly influential. He's so much of a leader that it's kind of stifling. Extremely smart in a technical way, the best at coming up with group strategies based on actual game theory. This complements his "protect the weak" ideology, though that has been breaking down. He can't save everyone, even at the expense of the other team. I think he first realized that after Zoo and then truly accepted it during Laying Grass.

- Cho Yeon-woo: She was too passive, exploitable. But while Seungkwan is loveable and Yu-min is pitiable, she never found an approach that would make someone hesitate about targeting her. I wish she got the chance to show her strengths, but Seok-jin's robbery was frankly a brilliant move so I'm not that mad. I think she should've cozied up to Si-won more, especially by telling her about the safe. Seok-jin would've disapproved but Si-won would've stood up for her.

[daylilifiedsundrewdrops]

Tape Recording #1.

[ CLICK ] Hm... Ah, I didn't know tape recorders were this big... What was that thing they used to say? Testing, testing. 1, 2, 76... ... Good enough! Soo... I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?

[They clear their throat.] So, uh, Hi there, Mr. Tape Recorder! I'm Maricel Mylene V. Rosarinde. Or just Maricel. That should work too. The 'V' stands for Vallenza, in-case you were wondering. I'm a student at Avidenia Willow Institute. Grade-6 specifically. I've always seen my classmates have these like... personal diaries. But! I thought it was way cooler to have an audio diary. Like a podcast or something! Though, I've never actually listened to one, hm.... Anyway, since Tape Recordings can't consent, Let me tell you aaaaa---lllllll about my day and about events at scho- Oh- Shi- [Silence for a couple minutes... Now, it sounds like someone stood up and is now hitting their head onto a pillow.] [Never-mind, they're back on the chair.] ...Haha, sorry, Mr. Tape Recorder. Had a headache for a moment there. Anyway, as I was saying, All about my day and about events at my school. So, to start off! I was late to school today. Again. For the third time this week. But no worries, the teachers could really uh... care less this time around. So, all I got was a slap to the arm and I was good to go. Speaking of being late! I also conveniently forgot one of my journals I used for creative writing while I was rushing for class which suuuccckssss... but it's fine. Whatever. Anyways, so school itself was mostly uneventful. Except for during recess when Nathaniel accidentally spilled juice on Angel's uniform! It was actually funny how Angel got so mad at him. She had to change into the P.E uniform because of it. Luckily, she packed an extra grooming kit in her classroom. She unfortunately could not save her uniform from getting stains, however. [They're laughing through their words.] Anyway, sorry, sorry. So, on another note, the Book Club has organized this year's new readathon for those who wanted to sign up! Guess their campaign's succeeded cause nearly everyone in the school joined. Including me, of course. It started today, and oh-ho, I think all the books in the school library has been hoarded completely. I went there and it was absolutely deserted. Mr. Lauriette was still hangin' by his desk like he always did though. I read only one book today, '' The Second World '' by Sarah Eviernes. Club Leader, Carmelita, announced that the 3 winners of the readathon will have 3 unique, mystery prizes given to them. Neat! I hope it's going to be good like a cat or something. Aside from that, I heard there's a local art contest about to be opened near the school. And I am SO signing up for it once the organizers start looking into our school for volunteers. The theme this time is something 'Magical' and I'm sure I'll ace it completely! I mean, there's like a 5% chance of me actually winning but, ya' know, it's worth a shot just for that small, small chance that I would win! Plus, the prize is a sweet 5,000 PHP, and I want that money. Plus, runner-ups get 700 and people who participated but didn't win still get 100. So, the money's worth it. Now, on another, more... negative note. Another 5 students were reported missing. 2 From our school and 3 from Wilvewood High. It's strange, though. Luis and Andrea were there. They were always cautious and... y'know, stuff like that. So, I don't think they could've gotten kidnapped unless.... Hmmm. Anyway, this is getting waayyyyyyyy too not-so-positive for me! [Sounds of someone wrongly imitating a cough-sound.] Cough, cough... anyways. Let's end the tape recorder off with after-school. I walked home because my parents didn't wanna come get me and it wasn't that far. So, my mom was home early. Guess what! She uh.. cooked dinner for us. Sinigang. But no rice. It tasted salty without the rice, I didn't like it. Though, afterwards, I managed to sneak in my phone up here in my bedroom and of course, this tape-recorder! Which I am currently using right now to record... you know! [Silence.] Gee, I'm- Ow- going to end this off here, I'm having another headache, see ya tomorrow, Mr. Tape Recorder! End recordi- Damnit this is- killing my head- [CLICK]

[numbwhileintertwining]

My experience with religion and spirituality as a RAMCOA survivor

TW: CRA (no details), RAMCOA, brief mention of cults, various religions, brief implications and mentions of SH and EDs I am the main host of an (H)C-DID system. Because my abuse was extremely religious, I (we) have a very complicated relationship with religion and spirituality. Our abuse took place in a Catholic group that was recruiting through our church. I don't consider the church itself a cult because it doesn't follow the BITE model, but the group does. Catholicism was ingrained in us from birth. We went to a Catholic daycare, Catholic preschool, and Catholic elementary school. We only went to church on Sundays, but we spent every day after school with the group. From a very early age, possibly even early infancy, We were severely and ritualistically abused because of it. Every aspect of Catholicism was warped and twisted to fit our abuser's needs. However, due to a conflict within the group, we were dropped a decade early when we were only 7. While this gave us a better chance at healing, it was too late. Certain things had been successfully implemented by that time.

After being dropped, we continued to practice Catholicism along with our family, who wasn't aware of the abuse that occurred. They believed that it was a group meant to socialize and entertain the kids while teaching them religious lessons. Being busy parents who both had full-time jobs, they gladly sent us there. It took years for them to realize that wasn't the case. We went to a different church and we were able to experience non-abusive versions of the sacraments we had never known before. This was nice, but it wasn't as healing as I wish it was. We still had deeply religious alters that were loyal and exclusively believed in the group's warped version of Catholicism. Certain alters would perform modified versions of harmful rituals on the body and/or inner world. Our entire system would become very chaotic and violent during Catholic holidays.

The next paragraph has highlights for clarity when I'm talking about other alters. When I say "I" in this paragraph, I'm talking about me as a host. When I say our/we, I'm talking about the system as a whole or the body.

In middle school, we learned about Wicca, Paganism, and witchcraft. I began to secretly test the waters. My family is still Catholic, so I had to hide everything I was doing. Our religious alters hated this. When I bought supplies, they would throw them away. When I tried to perform spells, they would forcefully front and end the spell, then punish us. Sometime in middle school, I told our parents I didn't want to go to church anymore. They were mad, but let me/us stop going. This caused a crisis within our system. I was temporarily locked out of the front, we didn't speak for about a month, we experienced extreme SI and would SH constantly, and developed an ED. All of this quickly alerted our parents and we were sent to therapy. When we disclosed anything, these symptoms would worsen until we were hospitalized. Under supervision, we were gradually able to disclose more and more, leading to us being referred to several specialists. We were eventually able to work with a team of specialists who work with RAMCOA survivors. We were out of crisis and I was a host again.

In early high school, I discovered Kemetism. We have lots of Egyptian family, but they're Muslim so I was on my own. I started doing research and purchasing books about it. I took it slow and told our therapists because I was scared of another crisis, but everything was fine. Although we're still unable to use certain symbols and do certain Pagan/Wiccan/Witch things, I found that our religious alters are seemingly neutral and unaffected by Kemetism (or at least how I practice it). However, we still felt like we need to be Catholic. I interpreted this pull towards Catholichism as meaning that I wasn't fully loyal to Kemetism or the deities that I paid special attention to and would later end up working with. We still experience this pull, but I now understand and accept that it's because of our trauma and that feeling guilty and pushing Kemetism away will only reinforce what our abusers wanted. I currently have a mostly neutral view towards Catholichism. I believe that the Catholic god exists in some form the same way I believe Norse, Greek, Celtic, and more gods exist. However, I don't view the Catholic god as the one true supreme god, I don't worship him (it?), and I don't follow the bible the same way I don't follow other mythology.

[markantonys]

I'm at the end of TFOH and something else I noticed. The nobles do fear Rand cause of his anger and him making them less powerful cause he makes it so the laws apply to them now but it's a plot point that Rand consistently has to remind them that he can channel and that he will go mad. Cause they're actively trying to ignore that. It isn't until the docks when two Tairen lords see him channeling against Lanfear that they start to fear him cause he can channel. Knowing it is one thing, seeing it is something else. So like people complaining about the show not addressing this yet... it's not relevant til the end of book 5!

another very interesting observation!! i remember a scene in cairhien in TFOH when a noblewoman is trying to hit on him for personal gain and he (intentionally) freaks her out by reminding her that he can channel, and we saw something similar with berelain in TSR too, where she was all hellbent on seducing him but then got freaked out by the the whole bubble of evil incident and switched her sights to perrin instead. it definitely makes sense for people to view him almost as more of a regular warlord until they actually see concrete evidence of his channeling abilities. like you say, watching him channel is different from just knowing that (he says) he can!

so there really is 0 need for the show to have shown people being scared of rand's channeling abilities in only the first 2 seasons. even so, they did show it with "selene's" reaction! obviously it was all an act, but it was still a good representation of how the average person would react to watching rand channel right in front of them and it gives the audience a good sense of what's to come once rand becomes a notable public figure and has to face an increasing number of reactions to his abilities. but he isn't there yet.

as far as i can remember, the only significant negative reaction from books 1-3 that's missing from the show is mat's, but i am far from displeased with the show softening mat's attitudes towards channelers, not least because of the romance coming his way. Channeler Hater who has many channeler besties falling in love with Channeler Enslaver who reinforces all his worst prejudices just feels very..........malicious, and putting mat on better footing with channelers to start with definitely eases some of that nastiness, not to mention sets up for a more interesting dynamic where he actually challenges tuon on her views rather than becoming her yes-man. like, a non-channeler main good guy having some anti-channeler prejudice issues could have been an interesting storyline, but i would have preferred it if it wasn't the same non-channeler main good guy who was going to have the romance with the head channeler enslaver villain lmao that's just not a great combination unless you're TRYING to tell a cynical depressing tale of radicalization into a hate group, which i do not think RJ was trying to do with mat.

(it's possible show!mat may still develop some kind of anxiety/animosity around the power, depending on if his medallion is still framed as him wanting protection from channelers. but even if that does happen, show!mat would still never start turning a blind eye to channeler enslavement! granted, early book!mat would never have done that either, even early early "rand channeling is like him eating babies" mat would never have done that.)

[phoebehalliwell]

how i would redo the charmed reboot (pilot specifically!) to make me like it more uwu

okay so one of my biggest gripes with season one specifically is how fast it moves i mean like by the second episode we already have the Harbinger of the Apocalypse like woah baby girl let's hit the breaks for a 22 episode season i feel like we really don't do enough meandering i would have really loved to see them fumble around with their powers more so Sorry Harry!! but you're getting dialed back a little. maybe a lot.

anyways

i would have really loved for the girls to unbind their powers a little more intentionally i think what i would have done is had marisol tuck them each away with a keyphrase somewhere in their lives so maybe on the back of the photo of marisol and macy and idk in a card for maggie maybe a congratulations on graduation high school card and an inscription in one of marisols favorite books for written for mel that mel would find after her death. and when macy first pulls up i wouldn't have her roll up during that argument specifically maybe maggie's about to roll out and mel's scolding her or something and she opens the door and boom it's macy!! and she shows the photo and maggie's looking at it like wow but mel's looking on the back bc that note is like the note she left for her and either it's the full spell or the phrases are all linked and mel's like what's that and macy's like oh it's [KEYPHRASE] i don't know what it means and mel's like cause it sounds a lot like [KEYPHRASE] and maggie's like wait that kind of reminds me of [KEYPHRASE] do you think- BOOM blackout. whoooooooooo swirling lights what the fuck? zoom they go up to thru the ceiling. and macy's like okay that's weird so i'm gonna go and maggie's like idk maybe her and mel are still iffy so maggie's like yeah me too and mel's like whatever i'm going to explore and goes up and it's the attic ooh they're never been in there (marisol died elsewhere. idk where yet maybe near a creek if we have a creek anywhere i'm still early in my rewatch. like ooh what was she doing there that was weird but it was bc of the spell of something) and mel goes into the attic and is like what the fuck and texts maggie like there's something you need to see

anyways maggie is at a party thing or something blah blah blah and we'll say brian her ex lover is there and it's thru this heightened emotional/physical connection (about to hook up) that she first starts to read his thoughts. and she's like whoa wait that's fucking weird also um i'm getting this vibe ur still in love with me. so like. i need to end this stat. then maybe lucy catches her down in the dumps and like bonds with her in her weird little lucy way (anyone else ship them?) and maggie's like yeah i'm better and lucy's like yay!! they hug and lucy's like god i hope she makes it thru rush i like her and maggie's like yeah i hope i make it thru rush too and lucy (already p sloshed) is like !!! oh my god that is so weird i was literally just thinking that!! and maggie's like uh oh not better. macy's still out getting drinks with galvin but instead of being mad about the sister thing she's just being really cagey about it and then whenever galvin is really supportive or kind to her something winds up falling off the bar and macy just gets so flustered she goes back to her shitty airbnb and then gets a text from galvin like hey are you alright and when she reads it idk the toaster flies into the drywall or something major. mel i honestly don't know. maybe she's reading about all this witchy stuff and she knocks something over and it freezes very briefly before crashing to the ground.

so maggie pulls back up home like mel somethign really weird happened and mel's like i literally texted you like 4 hours ago and drags her up to the attic and maggie's like what what is this this isn't happening etc etc they argue a bit maggie is exiting the attic mel's tailing her still arguing blah blah blah boom it's macy at the top of their stairs like i'm so sorry to do this but has anything weird happened to you guys. so idk mel drags them up to the attic where she shows them the unbinding spell which happens to be the stuff they said and macy's like yeah to that's not really but BONG CLOCK NOISES BONG ooh it's midnight on a full moon and now all three of them are in the attic ooh something strange happens maybe we color code each of their powers a la the witch of time / witch of space / witch of emotion type deal we end up with in the finale. and maybe some text reveals itself in the book of shadows and it's written in their mom's hand about the prophecy of the charmed ones